The RNC and Isaac

Hurricane Isaac's "cone of uncertainty" tracks toward Florida making the approximate 50,000 politicians, delegates, visitors, and reporters coming to Tampa for the RNC very nervous.

Pica's Park

The lantana, junipers, abelias, and crepe myrtles are blooming and colorful. Pica (my Chihuahua who passed away at 17.5 yrs.) would have been so happy to be able to wander through the plants in search of the perfect place to pee and poop and paw at little green lizards. With two two-person benches positioned to look out over Pica's Park, up to four of my neighbors can sit and enjoy the landscape too. Neighborhood kids are back in school, temperatures are again tolerable, and the scent of gardenias and ligustrum fill the air. Mississippi can be a lovely place this time of year. It took almost eight months for us to finish Pica's Park and for the plants to fully bloom, just in time to enjoy before it gets too cold. Halloween is around the corner, then Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Cycle-of-Life and holidays begins again! When it gets cold, I'll look out at Pica's Park and think warm thoughts of her and our 17.5 years together.

Sad little chi-weenie

Chee-Sy was left to play in the backyard today shortly after it rained. We always leave the kitchen door ajar so she can come in whenever she wants. Today, the volume of rain was tremendous and our backyard flooded almost up to the porch steps. If the water had risen much further we would have been calling our insurance company to file a claim on our recently renewed flood insurance policy. Two overgrown red-tops and a sweet gum tree thrive in our back yard and they lost a ton of leaves because the downpour was so heavy. There must have been a bird's nest somewhere in one of the trees and a little sparrow got washed out of the nest or drowned, fell to the ground and was hurt or died. Chee-Sy picked up the little bird in her mouth and brought it into the living room where my husband was reading. She wouldn't jump up onto the couch like she usually does. She stood in front of him whimpering until he looked closely at her and saw the dead bird in her mouth. She must have wanted to play and couldn't understand why the little sparrow was dead. After making her drop the bird, we took it to the trash can. Chee-Sy seemed distraught. She may have actually killed the bird by trying to play with it. If there is a toad, gecko, bird, squirrel, cat, or anything that moves in our backyard she is going to want to play with or chase it. I'm still trying to get her to quit chewing on sweet gum balls. She was a sad little chi-weenie today.

Miss Personality

She's a hybrid. My new classification, just for her, is ChiWeenieMeow. Half Chihuahua, half Daschund, (with a catty attitude). She howls and barks, and purrs, and burrows under the covers at night, sniffs for anything foul, fowl, or amphibian in the backyard, and stares me down whenever I try to discipline her. She makes friends with all dogs, all cats, and most people. Her energetic bursts of running in the house are something to behold. The sofa is a spring board, the carpet adds traction, and our bedroom is "turn around". I've even tried to stop her and she just dodges me with grace and more speed. When she is finished, she isn't even panting. I didn't think I would become as attached to another dog, as I was to my precious Pica. This one gives me that knitted brow stare that appears to say "you are not immune to my charms lady, no way, no how". She is right. It's been a little over 3 months and I'm hooked! I still tear up when I think of my Pica, but then Chee-Sy jumps into my lap, twirls around till she is comfortable, closes her eyes to sleep, and my sad thoughts are re-directed.